Chinese views differ on Nobel laureate

Not all Chinese share the same tastes of the Nobel Prize Committee, who yesterday named Chinese writer Mo Yan as this yearâ€™s winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Mo Yan, whose pseudonym translates to â€śdonâ€™t speak,â€ťÂ has been criticized for failing to support other Chinese writers who have been subjected to censorship under the Communist government.

â€śIn an interview in London, Mo Yan said censorship can help the writing of an author. He protested against mainland dissident writer Dai Qingâ€™s appearance at the Frankfurt Book Fair. He also copied the speech of Chairman Mao to commemorate an event for writers that Mao hosted in 1942,â€ť said Patrick Poon Kar-wai, secretary of the Independent Chinese Pen Center.

â€śMo Yan, as vice-chairperson of the official China Writers Association, is one of those who was responsible for censorship of other writers,â€ť saidÂ Poon, Â a member of Hong Kong dioceseâ€™s Justice and Peace Commission, arguing that the prize should consider the conduct of the artist, not just the work.

The Swedish Academy hailed the 57 year-old writer for his â€śhallucinatory realismâ€ť that merges folk tales, history and the contemporary, and created a world reminiscent of those forged by William Faulkner and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Mo Yan said in London this April that â€śMany approaches to literature have political bearings â€¦ a writer can inject their own imagination to isolate them from the real world or maybe they can exaggerate the situation â€“ making sure it is bold, vivid and has the signature of our real world. So, actually I believe these limitations or censorship is great for literature creation."

Mo Yan's works includeÂ Red Sorghum,Â The Republic of Wine, andÂ Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out.

â€śMoâ€™s win brought joy to his supporters,â€ť the Xinhua News Agency said yesterday.

In a press conference in his hometown of Gaomi in eastern Shangdong province, the 57 year-old writer said he hopes fellow Chinese writer Liu XiaoboÂ â€ścan achieve his freedom as soon as possible."

Liu, a writer and political dissident, was sentenced to 11 yearsâ€™ imprisonment in 2009. He was awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, at which time the Chinese Foreign Ministry called theÂ Oslo-based Peace Prize committee "clowns."